Campaigners Call on Politicians To Deliver Climate Action

Campaigners are getting on their bikes to call on politicians to deliver climate action in advance of this year’s Holyrood elections. A team of cyclists from Stop Climate Chaos Scotland will ride around Edinburgh today (Thurs 4 Feb), delivering the campaign’s Scottish Parliament manifesto to the five parties currently represented in the Scottish Parliament.

The team will deliver copies to the offices of the Scottish Conservatives, the Scottish Greens, Scottish Labour, the Scottish Liberal Democrats, and the Scottish National Party.

Stop Climate Chaos Scotland is the biggest civil society coalition in Scotland, and works to ensure Scotland plays its fair part in tackling climate change and meets its legal targets to reduce carbon emissions by 42% by 2020 and 80% by 2050.

Cyclist and Stop Climate Chaos Scotland campaigner Jim Densham said: “People in this country want change. Communities across Scotland are coming together to create their own clean energy, to build green transport systems, and to adopt low carbon lifestyles. Before the UN climate talks in Paris, thousands of us marched in Edinburgh as part of a global movement for real climate action. Now is the time for the political parties to match that commitment and enthusiasm.

“During the last Scottish Parliament, we repeatedly failed to meet our climate targets. That simply can’t continue.”

“The policies set out in our manifesto are reasonable and achievable, and will take us towards a new clean, green economy with benefits for all of us.

“We need warm, energy efficient homes. We need a meaningful shift away from investment in private cars, and towards investment in public transport and active travel like walking and cycling. And we need the Scottish Parliament to use its new tax powers to help cut climate emissions, especially when it comes to Air Passenger Duty.”

Stop Climate Chaos Scotland had originally planned this event for last Thursday but it had to be cancelled due to severe bad weather from Storm Gertrude.

Gail Wilson, Campaigns Manager at Stop Climate Chaos Scotland said “We weren’t immune to the exceptionally bad weather many Scots have been experiencing recently and last week it wasn’t safe for us to be out in the strong winds. Climate scientists have linked the changing weather patterns to climate change, and these links are becoming clearer.

“People are also making the connections and with more flooding and increasing storms predicted for Scotland and the UK we want to see urgent action from political parties of all stripes.”

Stop Climate Chaos Scotland has also launched an online campaign at stopclimatechaos.org/election-2016, asking members of the public to write to the political parties, urging them to support policies that will secure a low carbon Scotland by 2020.

Notes to editors

For more information, or to arrange an interview, please contact Connal Hughes 0131 243 2715 / chughes@foe-scotland.org.uk

·    Reporters, photographers and film crews are invited to attend the media opportunity at 11am, Thursday 4th Feb , at the Scottish Parliament’s Public Entrance, Horse Wynd, Horse Wynd, Edinburgh, EH99 1SP, where a colourful group of cyclists will gather with the SCCS manifesto, banners and placards.

·    Stop Climate Chaos Scotland (SCCS) is the biggest civil society coalition in Scotland, bringing together organisations campaigning on climate change. Its members include environment, faith and international development organisations, trade and student unions and community groups.

·    SCCS is working to ensure Scotland plays its fair part in tackling climate change and that the commitments set out in the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 are achieved, including targets to reduce emissions by 42% by 2020 and 80% by 2050.

The SCSS manifesto has seven major priorities, calling on political parties to:

·    Make energy efficiency of Scotland’s homes a National Infrastructure Project.
·    Commit to and deliver a Warm Homes Act.
·    Build the foundations for a Low Carbon Scotland through capital investment decisions.
·    Commit to a meaningful shift from private car to public transport and active travel.
·    Use new Air Passenger Duty powers to cut climate emissions.
·    Reinforce Scotland’s support for Climate Justice.
·    Commit to an ambitious Land Use Strategy Action Plan.
·    The full manifesto ‘Securing a low carbon Scotland for 2020 and beyond’ is available online here: http://foe-scotland.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b5ad0d61b2a67d22c68bf7d8d&id=6a5bd7f855&e=98fc9c6a9a

Voters can take action in support of the SCCS manifesto at http://foe-scotland.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b5ad0d61b2a67d22c68bf7d8d&id=aa596a7c5d&e=98fc9c6a9a

BBC News Carbon emissions boosted 2014 January storm risk ‘by 43%’ http://foe-scotland.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b5ad0d61b2a67d22c68bf7d8d&id=c81ccc155c&e=98fc9c6a9a